


your moustache is tickling my cold immortal skin

by vampirejanuary



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic Esme Cullen, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, carlisle tries to woo charlie but all of his dates go disastrously wrong, esme has a vendetta against the volturi's interior design skills, everyone meddles in carlisle's love life, fire safety is important kids, they just want him to be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirejanuary/pseuds/vampirejanuary
Summary: You'd think that with almost 400 years of experienceandthe help of his daughter who canliterally see the futureCarlisle would be able to woo Charlie Swan with ease. Tragically, this is not the case. Oh well, the course of true love never did run smooth; I'm sure they'll get there in the end.
Relationships: Carlisle Cullen & Esme Cullen, Carlisle Cullen/Charlie Swan
Comments: 45
Kudos: 130





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cattycat1310](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cattycat1310/gifts).



> i never thought i'd be writing twilight fanfiction in the year of our lord 2020 but here we are

“Shit.”

Carlisle glanced up sharply. “Language, Alice.” It was unusual for her to swear, and when she did so out of the blue like this it was usually a sign that she’d had a particularly bad vision. Still, that was no reason to forgo basic manners.

Where he sat at the piano, Edward paled. _Shit,_ thought Carlisle, _it must be_ really _bad, then._  
His son hurried out of the room, almost bowling Alice over as she entered and skipped over to Carlisle. “Charlie’s coming over,” that didn’t sound too bad, “And he’s on the war path.”

 _Ah._ Alice had warned them that there would be repercussions for their impromptu disappearance last year, though Carlisle had been imagining threats of discovery, not an angry police chief.

“I’ll talk to him,” Carlisle offered, and Alice grinned, “Let Edward know when he can come home.”

“Or don’t, that’s an option too,” called Rosalie from upstairs.

Carlisle frowned, but Charlie was already knocking on the door and Rosalie was only joking. Probably.

“Chief Swan? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

He looked a little thrown at the sight of Carlisle. “Where’s the boy?” At Carlisle’s frown he clarified: “Edward.” He spat the name out as if it tasted sour on his tongue.

 _Good Lord, Edward. What did you do?_ Charlie looked just about ready to murder him, and Carlisle had to stifle a laugh at the thought of this human trying to best his son in a fight. _If he has any of Bella’s strong spirit, he just might manage it._

Charlie cleared his throat, shaking him from his musings, “Ah, no, sorry. He just left, I’m afraid.”

This did not appear to mollify him. “When’s he getting back?”

 _Shit. This might be harder than anticipated._ “I don’t know, he didn’t say.”

“Right, well I’ll be waiting in the car then.” The man turned and started to walk back down the long drive.

On one hand, this was ideal. Eventually, Charlie would have to go home, and then Edward could safely return. Or, he could sneak in without Charlie’s knowing, and they could simply lie and say he’d spent the night at a friend’s, or camping, or something.

But Carlisle shuddered at the thought of Charlie sitting alone in his car all night. It had been many years since he’d been bothered by the cold, but the same could not be said of Chief Swan. And if Bella’s stubbornness was any indication of her father’s, he could very well sit out there all night. Carlisle simply couldn’t allow that to happen. It was just poor manners.

“Wait,” from upstairs, Alice gasped, and Carlisle doesn’t want to know what _that_ might mean, “You should wait in the house. It will be warmer than in your car, and I hope you might find the company better.” He smiled, though not wide enough to show his fangs. That tended to unsettle people, and oddly, Carlisle found himself wanting Charlie to be comfortable in his presence. Quite bothersome, when his goal was supposed to be scaring the poor man off.

Charlie huffed, nodded once, then strode past where Carlisle still stood in the doorway. His scent hit Carlisle like a car, and _hmm, maybe it runs in the family?_ then he shut the front door and followed him through into the living room. Despite his apparent confidence when barging through the door, Charlie seemed a bit uncomfortable now that he was actually inside.

“Would you like a seat?” Charlie jumped, _that’s strange I thought I was being loud enough for humans to hear_ and nodded again, sitting down hurriedly on the sofa. Carlisle took a seat next to him, and continued, “Can I ask why you want to speak to Edward?”

This seemed to remind him why he was here, and he frowned again, avoiding eye contact with Carlisle as he explained “He’s got no right, swanning back in here like nothing’s wrong. He doesn’t know what he did to my poor Bella. He’d’ve been better off staying away.”

Carlisle could hear Charlie’s heart hammering in his chest. _Is he scared?_

“I assure you, Edward was similarly affected -”

“Similarly affected my ass, Bella was -” He made a strange choking noise and _oh shit he’s going to cry shit fuck what am I supposed to do with a crying human?_ He paused, drew in a deep, shaky breath, and continued, “Bella was… It was _bad._ I didn’t, I don’t know how to handle stuff like,” he gestured vaguely, “that. And then you lot just rock back up like nothing even happened. If you left, if Edward left -”

Carlisle shifted closer, and rested his hand gently on Charlie’s shoulder, “We aren’t going to leave, Chief Swan.”

He turned sharply, and glared at Carlisle, “Can you promise that? Can you be certain that you’ll never leave? Because the first time,” his eyes were watering with unshed tears and he pushed his finger aggressively into Carlisle’s chest, “The first time, it almost broke her. I can’t – I just can’t.” 

Carlisle took Charlie’s hand between his, and smiled sadly, “You’re right, I can’t promise anything. But I know Edward, and I know he will do anything in his power to avoid hurting Bella ever again.”

Charlie’s shoulders dropped, and his strength seemed to leave him in a deep sigh. He fell back onto the sofa cushions, though Carlisle kept his hand clasped in his own. Eyes closed, Charlie finally allowed his tears to fall. Carlisle simply waited, wishing he could do more to help, and silently cursing Edward for his part in this man’s unhappiness.

Finally, voice thick with emotion, Charlie whispered, “You see to it that he doesn’t. You’re the good sort, Dr Cullen, but I don’t trust that boy of yours. I can’t. You tell him,” He sat up, then seemed to notice that Carlisle was still holding his hand. He quickly let it go, not wanting him to think too deeply about why his skin was so cold. After a brief moment, he continued, “Tell Edward that if he hurts her, I’ll kill him.”

“I’ll be sure to pass the message on,” his protectiveness of Bella was admirable. _Wait -_ “You’re leaving?”

He laughed bitterly. Carlisle pointedly ignored how the movement bumped their knees into one another, and firmly didn’t think about the warmth seeping into his leg through the point of contact. “I barged into your house, shouted at you, then cried my eyes out into your designer sofa. I think I’ve outstayed my welcome.”

“Nonsense,” Carlisle smiled as warmly as he could, “It’s been a pleasure to have you here.”

“Even the shouting and crying?”

“Especially the shouting and crying. Your love for Bella is endearing. And there’s no shame in crying. Parenting can be difficult, and though I’m sorry to have played a small part in Bella’s suffering, I’m always here if you feel you need to talk.”

Charlie smiled, then looked up at Carlisle. His heartbeat sped up, and his cheeks flushed with blood, “That’s real sweet of you, Dr Cullen, but really I should be getting home,” He stood up abruptly, leaving Carlisle blinking at empty air, “Thank you for having me, it’s been lovely, but Bella will be waiting for me, I really must get going, goodbye.”

Before Carlisle knew what was happening, the front door was closing and he was stood in the living room on his own. _Oh. I scared him off._ The thought left him feeling oddly empty, even though scaring him off had been his original objective.

It wasn’t until Alice danced down the stairs and kissed him on the cheek, grinning from ear to ear and asking him how it had gone that Carlisle realised he’d been stood staring at the door for several minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie visits Carlisle at work (cue gay panic).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i absolutely loved writing flustered carlisle in this chapter
> 
> the names charlie and carlisle are wAY too similar though i swear i kept accidentally typing the wrong one

It had been a few days since Charlie’s… interesting visit to the Cullen household. Try as he might to distract himself with work, and caring for his family, Carlisle often found his mind wandering back to it, replaying each moment in minute detail, trying to figure out what exactly had scared Charlie away.  
Because he _must_ have been scared; his heart had been racing and his cheeks had been flushed.

Perhaps it was embarrassment at crying in front of Carlisle? Being embarrassed at the thought of being emotionally vulnerable would certainly fit in with the police chief’s tough, 'manly' image.

 _I can scarcely believe I was once human myself,_ mused Carlisle as he finished checking up on the elderly lady whose broken arm he had just set in a cast. _Their emotions and worries all seem so… foreign._

He was startled out of his thoughts by a familiar gruff voice drifting through the hospital doors.

“…were you thinking, Bells?”

“It’s barely a scratch, Dad. We didn’t need to come to the hospital, I’m _fine_.” There was a pause, then she continued in a teasing voice, “Or did you have a different reason to -”

“Bella,” He sounded more pleading than stern, and for the first time Carlisle found himself envying Edward’s ability to read thoughts. Bella laughed, and after his own huff of amusement, Charlie continued, “Fine, fine, you got me. Can you blame an old man for appreciating a bit of, what do you kids call it? Eye candy?”

“Ew, Dad! Gross!”

Charlie laughed again, louder this time, and Carlisle found himself smiling as he continued to speak, ignoring his daughter’s teasing protests, “Besides, it’s just a bit of fun. What could the glamorous Dr Cullen see in little old me? Even I’ll admit I’m not as young and handsome as I used to be.”

Carlisle almost dropped his clipboard. _Glamorous – What?_ Years of training allowed him to finish up with his patient on autopilot, then he was out of the door and headed over to the emergency room where Charlie was waiting. In all his years he’d never felt so strangely embarrassed, yet so hopeful.

It was clear now why Charlie had fled so quickly before, and indeed Carlisle was slowly starting to get an idea of his own feelings towards the man. _How could I not have noticed?_ But he forced his face into a mask of calm, concealing his tumultuous emotions. _In love with a human? Now I know how Edward must have felt. Strange that it should be Bella’s father though…_

“Ah, Mr Swan! How nice to see you here.”

This seemed to throw Charlie off, and he frowned slightly, mouth open as if to speak. _How endearing._ Then Carlisle’s mind caught up with his mouth and he realised what, exactly, he’d just said.

“Not that it’s nice to see you _here_ , in a hospital. I’m – It wouldn’t be nice to see you hurt, it’s just nice to see you. In general.” _Wow… smooth._

Bella was snickering slightly, and bleeding profusely from her left hand. This snapped Carlisle back into professional mode _thank God because_ that _had been embarrassing_ and he strode over to her, concerned.

“Another one?” Bella cringed at his words and _oh yes maybe it’s a bit soon for jokes like that._

“Oh yeah, walking disaster this one. Want to tell him what it was _this_ time?” Bella cringed again, only this time it was less ‘remembering my disastrous birthday party’ and more ‘I did something stupid and I don’t want to tell you it but my dad’s going to make me.’

“I, uh,” she laughed nervously, “I was trying to take the pit out of an avocado. The knife, it slipped.”

Carlisle sighed, “Well, good news: it’s not as bad as it looks. I’ll have you fixed up in no time, then you can be on your way.”

Bella smiled thinly up at him as he set to work, but he barely registered it. Charlie’s gaze rested heavily on his shoulders, and he’d never been so conscious of the scrutiny of another before. _Is this concern for Bella’s health or something… more?_

It felt like both an age and only a few seconds had passed by the time Bella’s hand had been fully cleaned and bandaged. Charlie did not stop watching him the entire time.

“Yes, well, I’m – It’s all done!” Carlisle hadn’t been this flustered in years.

Charlie’s voice, as a contrast, was calm and steady, though it did nothing to soothe his damned nerves, “Thank you, Dr Cullen.”

“Carlisle,” Charlie frowned slightly _damn it that should not be so damned cute_ and Carlisle rushed to elaborate, “My name. Yes. You can uh,” He took a deep breath, smiled warmly, and started over, “Please, you can call me Carlisle.”

He stubbornly ignored Bella giggling, and though she shut up when Charlie shot her a glare she did not stop grinning.

“Thank you, Carlisle.”

Carlisle was suddenly very glad that he was not carrying a clipboard now, as he would certainly have dropped it at the way Charlie said his name and smiled. _Oh dear Lord. It’s finally happening. All these hundreds of years have finally driven me to insanity._

Carlisle’s thoughts were interrupted by Charlie and Bella standing up to leave. “You’re going?”

Bella started giggling again, and didn’t stop even when both men glared at her.

“…Yeah? We weren’t… This is a hospital?”

If Carlisle could have blushed, he’s certain his face would have been bright red. “Oh! Yes absolutely. Sorry. Yes. Uh, you’ll just be leaving then…” He waved awkwardly, then turned on his heel and strode further back into the hospital. Behind him, he could hear Bella laughing at him, and Charlie scolding her half-heartedly.

The rest of his shift passed in a blur, and before he knew it he was back at home.

“How was your day at work?” From Alice’s smile, he knew she’d seen Charlie’s visit to the emergency room, and had likely passed on his awkwardness to her siblings. He couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed; it was nice to see her so amused, even if it was at his expense.

“I’m sure you already know the answer to that, dear Alice.” Her grin only widened, and she turned to skip into the kitchen, where Rosalie and Esme were sat on the counter, playing a card game.

“Carlisle,” Esme rose from her seat and came over to kiss him lightly on the cheek, “Alice says you might want to speak to me?”

 _Ah, so Alice had also foreseen that particular train of thought._ “Yes. I spoke to Charlie at work today.” Esme’s smile turned teasing. Though she and Alice bore no blood relation, their expressions were almost identical. Carlisle couldn’t help but shake his head at their antics.

For the first few years after her changing, Esme had thought she was in love with Carlisle. They’d been happy together for a while, but she’d gradually realised that her love for him was more platonic than romantic. And that had been that, for a while. They’d adopted children together, and Esme still loved Carlisle fiercely, as she loved all of her family, but it wasn’t romantic.

It wasn’t until recently that she’d questioned this any further. It had been Alice, because of course it had been Alice, who had first brought it up. Aromantic. Apparently there was a word now, for Esme’s particular brand of love.

She’d had been ecstatic, but overall it hadn’t changed much. Now there was a word for it, a name to put to a feeling, but her excitement had been more at knowing she wasn’t alone than anything else.

Still, their cover story was marriage, so it only seemed fair of him to consult her on his budding attraction.

As they left the kitchen to go and talk somewhere private (or as private as you can get in a house full of people with superhuman hearing) Alice hopped up to take Esme’s place opposite Rosalie. Rosalie immediately started muttering about cheating but she didn’t back down from the challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't actually know anything about hospitals, especially not american hospitals (i'm from the uk) so please ignore any inaccuracies on that front cheers


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlisle and Esme have a heart-to-heart, and he jets off to Italy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> turning het relationships into bromances for the purposes of writing gay fic is my passion

The view from the roof of the house was stunning. Particularly now, as the setting sun shot bursts of golden light through tree branches, catching on Carlisle and Esme’s skin and refracting back out in shimmering white rays.

Up here, they were free to be themselves.

Esme had set up her easel on a flat section of the roof, and was working diligently to capture the beauty around them. It was one of her favourite places to sit, never seeming to grow bored of the scenery. Often, Carlisle opted to join her, to sit in silence or share quiet discussion. He loved all of his family, but he particularly enjoyed Esme’s company, and appreciated her sage advice.

Right now, he felt in dire need of advice.

She hummed quietly as she painted, one of Edward’s first compositions from back when he was still learning to play the piano, a simple piece and one of her favourites. She knew Carlisle was troubled, but she also knew that he would need time to gather his thoughts.

Patience was easy when one had all the time in the world.

“I think I have feelings for Charlie – Bella’s father.”

“I know who Charlie is, dear.” She didn’t look at him, but her smile was fond, if a little teasing.

“The Volturi were displeased enough to learn about Bella, I couldn’t possibly pursue my feelings without fear of repercussions.”

“But you want to?”

“Yes,” he breathed. Any human would have missed it, but Carlisle’s chest felt as raw as if he’d screamed it at the top of his lungs.

“Then you should go and ask the Volturi’s permission, if you don’t want any repercussions.”

Carlisle looked up in confusion, but Esme was still painting as serenely as ever. As if she hadn’t just suggested going back into the lion’s den to ask for _permission_ to court Charlie like some blushing suitor.

Even if it wasn’t outrageously dangerous it would be downright _embarrassing._

“Oh don’t look at me like that,” she still hadn’t so much as glanced at him, “Aro likes you, and he’ll definitely be interested to know that a _human_ has caught your eye.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

“His interest might be your salvation in this case, love. He’ll be curious about how this is going to turn out, and it will most likely stop him from refusing you outright.”

“Or I could just ignore… this. I’ve managed without Charlie for this long, I’m sure I can bear to continue without him.”

“Oh I’m sure you can bear it, sweetheart, but there’s no point in making yourself miserable,” She set her paintbrush aside for a moment, and turned to meet his eye, “Now you’ll want to get going soon, Alice has already packed for you, and you don’t want to miss your flight.”

Carlisle leant down to kiss her on the forehead, “I don’t know what I’d do without you, dear.”

Esme laughed softly, “You’d never get anything done, I can tell you that much. Now off with you, and call me when you get there. Give Aro my love.”

Carlisle was still laughing as he hopped off the roof, down to where the rest of his family were waiting with his bags.

“What is it with the humans around here? Are they really _that_ good?” Emmett stepped forward to hug Carlisle goodbye, “Maybe I should try one for myself, wink wink.” Rosalie elbowed him in the ribs, then hugged Carlisle.

“Edward’s going to be insufferable without you here to shut him up,” She tried to scowl at Edward, but it was half-hearted. Edward stuck his tongue out at her.

“I’ll miss you too, Rosalie,” replied Carlisle, smiling at their antics.

Alice skipped forwards, dragging Jasper behind her, and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss Carlisle on the cheek, “You needn’t worry about it, Carlisle, Aro will…” She trailed off, grinning mischievously.

“That doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence, Alice.”

She laughed, “He’ll think it’s hilarious, don’t worry.”

“It _is_ hilarious. I mean, Carlisle’s got the hots for Bella’s _dad_. Hear that Edward? He’s gonna be dating your girlfriend’s dad in like, a week, tops,” Emmett grinned over at Edward, who rolled his eyes, and threw a rock at him. He dodged, and it hit Rosalie instead.

Rosalie growled, and started throwing rocks back.

“Don’t be gone too long, _please_ , or I think they’ll tear each other apart,” pleaded Alice.

“I have faith in you Alice,” Carlisle laughed at the look of terror in her eyes, “Who knows, I could do with a vacation. I might decide to stay in Italy for a while, take in the sights, soak up the sun, you know.”

“Oh _dear_ …” whispered Alice as Carlisle got into his car.

Behind Alice, Rosalie had just uprooted a tree and was preparing to launch it at Edward. _I hope I’m back before they do any lasting damage._ And then the house was out of sight and Carlisle was on his way to the airport.

When he arrived, he checked his phone. He had four texts from Alice bemoaning her siblings (although thankfully they hadn’t broken anything in the house yet), one from Edward to tell him Emmett and Bella had made a bet about how long it would take him and Charlie to get together, and one from Aro.

He sighed as he read it. There were _far_ too many emojis for it to be in any way legible, so he took a screenshot and sent it to Emmett for a translation.

There was no reply forthcoming before the plane took off. _Oh well, I hope it was nothing important._

Although he tried to read during the flight, Carlisle found his mind wandering, and he was making very little progress in his book. He kept thinking back to Charlie’s smile, his blush and his racing heart, and most of all his comment to Bella when they’d arrived at the hospital.

Unless he was drastically misinterpreting the man’s words, Charlie was… interested in Carlisle. At the very least he found him physically attractive. _Don’t be dense Carlisle, he called you ‘eye candy’, of course he finds you attractive._

But how would he feel about having his affection returned? It was all well and good jetting off to Italy to ask the vampire king for permission to date a human, but was there any point? Carlisle didn’t even know what Charlie’s feelings on the matter would be.

There was also the matter of actually _seducing_ him. It had been… a while. Carlisle would have blushed at the mere thought of trying to romance the human if he could actually blush. Though he didn’t know the specifics, he was aware that courting rituals were different nowadays. He was also aware that Alice would laugh her head off if she heard Carlisle say the phrase ‘courting rituals’ out loud.

Perhaps he’d have to do some research, then.

He spent the rest of the flight making a list in his head of everything he knew about Charlie and his interests. It was admittedly a very short list, which consisted mainly of fishing. Well, he could ask Bella for more information later.

It was with this thought in his head that Carlisle stepped out of the airport and almost walked right into the gaggle of vampires standing there, holding a sign with his name on it, and wearing large, conspicuous sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.

“Carlisle! It’s been too long,” Aro cried, flinging his arms out dramatically, and sashaying forwards to embrace Carlisle. His longs sleeves flapped in the breeze, and Carlisle noted that aside from the sunglasses and hats, the vampires had done very little to disguise themselves. They all wore long black robes, and were getting some very funny looks.

_Oh dear…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlisle enjoys his stay in Italy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had fun writing the volturi being super weird in this chapter, i hope you like it :)

Bizarrely, the Volturi were driven back to Volterra in a minibus. Carlisle didn’t dare ask whether they’d hired it or if it was something they’d already owned.

It was clear that they didn’t get out much, and most of the group was treating the trip like a tourist holiday. Several of them had cameras, though nobody seemed to know how to use them properly. It would almost be funny if Carlisle wasn’t so terrified.

Aro had commandeered the back row of seats, and he sat there now with Carlisle, grinning maniacally, and rubbing his hands together.

“I must admit, Carlisle, I was absolutely ecstatic to hear you were coming to visit us. Alice insisted that you wouldn’t need us to collect you at the airport, but I know how easy it is to get lost around here, and we wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”

Carlisle shook his head, but Aro ignored him and barrelled on, “Now she wouldn’t tell us the reason for your visit, but I presume it has something to do with your Edward and his human? Yes, yes, it must do. Perhaps you’re here to try and patch up our relations? Well I must assure you, Carlisle, there is absolutely no need for that.”

Aro grinned even wider, and patted him vigorously on the shoulder, “I’m quite happy for the boy, and as long as the girl is dealt with in due time we shall have no further quarrel with you. There. Now we’ve sorted out that terrible business you’re free to enjoy the rest of your stay. I can’t wait for you to see the renovations we’ve -”

“Aro,” The vampire frowned slightly at the interruption, “While I’m glad to hear that, I’m afraid that wasn’t the reason for my visit.”

“Oh?” Now he looked intrigued, and held his hands out to Carlisle in a familiar offer.

Carlisle sighed. He’d expected Aro to do this, and honestly it wasn't a bad idea. It would be far easier for Aro to simply see the problem in his thoughts rather than Carlisle having to clumsily try and explain the situation.

However, it was still an uncomfortable invasion of privacy, so Carlisle hesitated for a moment before placing his hand between Aro’s.

“Oh, oh I see…” Aro was still smiling in that disconcerting way of his. Carlisle suppressed a shudder, “How interesting that two of your clan should be bewitched by humans, and two humans of the same blood no less.”

At the word ‘blood’ every vampire in the bus turned to stare intently at Carlisle. He shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny for a moment, before Aro hissed at them and they all pretended to be interested in something else.

“Yes, it’s certainly interesting. I… Considering how things went with Edward and Bella I thought it would be wise to make you aware of the situation before anything happened this time.”

“Hm, very wise indeed. I must say, I’m interested in this little town of yours. Perhaps I shall have to pay you a visit, see if I can’t find myself a little human pet,” Aro laughed, and Carlisle froze in his seat, “Oh there’s no need to look like that dear, I was only joking… Mostly.”

“So, what do you say?”

Aro looked contemplative for a moment. The minibus drove past a field of cows and all the vampires plastered themselves to the windows, staring excitedly and taking blurry photos.

“I say… I say you seduce this human like your life,” he giggled, and Carlisle smiled politely, “depends on it! Woo him! Make him yours! And when you’ve won his heart,” he gave Carlisle a meaningful look, “you must bring him to meet us.”

“…And if I fail?”

Aro laughed again, “Oh my, Carlisle! You won’t fail.”

_That doesn’t reassure me…_

Eventually, the minibus pulled into a darkened alleyway, and the vampires started filing off one by one. Aro excused himself, claiming he had important business to see to, but that they’d talk again later. Carlisle was led to a luxurious room, full of bookshelves containing some of his favourite books. _Aro has really outdone himself this time._ He pulled an old book of classic fairytales off the nearest shelf and opened it at a random page, then flopped down on the chaise longue and checked his phone.

Emmett had texted him to let him know that Aro intended to meet him at the airport ( _too little too late_ thought Carlisle wryly), and Rosalie had texted to say that Edward was immensely annoying and could they please un-adopt him?

Carlisle smiled fondly, then called Esme.

“Hello?”

“Esme. I’ve arrived.”

“Have you spoken to Aro?”

“Yes, he gave me his blessing.”

“Oh, wonderful news. Will you be staying long?”

Carlisle laughed, “I don’t think Aro will let me go easily. There are some renovations to the east wing that he’s desperate to show me.”

“Have they finally gotten rid of those awful archways? Ugh, and that awful domed ceiling, you know they really should have gotten a professional to do that but _no_ , Aro had to have his favourite pet artist paint it. I told him, you know, I told him that painting on a canvas is _very_ different to painting a domed ceiling, but he didn’t even give the poor lass a practice run. No wonder he ended up looking like the Count off Sesame Street.”

“I’ll let you know if it’s still there, don’t worry.”

“Tell him I’ll happily redo it for him. Oh and his curtains! You know the ones. If _they’re_ still there then you have my permission to burn them.”

“Esme, darling, I’m not going to start a fight with the Volturi because you don’t approve of their interior decorating skills.”

“Clearly you haven’t seen those curtains.”

“Tell the kids I love them -”

“Carlisle I swear if those curtains are still there by the end of the week -”

“- And tell Edward to stop antagonising his sister. Love you, bye!”

“The curtains Carlisle -”

He hung up on her.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Ever the gracious host, Aro had provided Carlisle with a selection of livestock to feed from, though he did keep mentioning how nice humans taste. _Ah well. At least he’s not actively trying to force feed me human blood._

The archways were still there, but Aro had indeed had the domed roof redone, and his likeness was much more flattering this time. Carlisle dutifully passed on Esme’s offer to paint something for him, and Aro suggested he might like to commission a Volturi family portrait later in the decade.

Unfortunately, the curtains were still in use, and at several points throughout the week Carlisle seriously considered ‘accidentally’ knocking a candle into them. In the end, there was no need, as one of the chickens that had been brought in for him escaped, causing much chaos and damaging them beyond repair.

Aro was distraught, and Carlisle had to try his best not to smile as he offered his ‘sincerest condolences’. He then had to try not to scowl as Aro used it as proof that humans were so much more appetising than animals.

Although it was far from an unpleasant stay, Carlisle must admit he was immensely relieved to see the old minibus again on his final day. He noticed that it had ‘Volturi Vacations’ spray painted on the side. _Well that answers that question._

This time, it was just Carlisle and Aro on the bus, and they sat in complete silence for the whole journey to the airport. Aro hugged him goodbye, and Carlisle promised once again that he’d return soon, with the rest of his family, and then he was on the plane and he could finally relax.

_Well that’s the hardest bit over and done with._

Tragically, Carlisle could not have been more wrong.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlisle (finally) asks Charlie out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally we're actually getting to the shippy stuff!

Thankfully, Edward and Rosalie had not destroyed the house in his absence. As it turned out, Emmett had suggested some sort of tournament and they’d spent the week trying to out-compete one another at various inane things.

Carlisle thought it was better not to ask. Knowing those two, it would probably only spark another argument.

Today, Bella was staying over. Alice had invited her for a fun girls’ night, and somehow she’d even managed to rope Rosalie into it. This was probably because Bella was in Rosalie’s good books at the moment, as she’d been the referee for one of their competitions and had ruled in Rosalie’s favour, saying that it wasn’t cheating to hide the jigsaw pieces since Edward could just read her mind to find them again anyway.

“Hello girls,” Carlisle stuck his head around the door, then dodged the stuffed rabbit that Alice immediately launched at him.

“It’s girls’ night, get out,” Then she paused, and a smile crept onto her face, “Actually you know what you can stay. I’ve always wanted to talk about boys with my friends, but Rosalie and Bella are both dating my brothers so they’re no fun.”

“Ew, I do _not_ want to talk about my _dad_ , no thanks,” Bella’s face twisted into a grimace.

Rosalie nodded emphatically, “Me neither, sorry Alice.”

Alice pouted.

“I’m not here to talk about boys,” Alice pouted even harder, “I just wanted to ask Bella something.”

“Oh, sure thing, shoot.”

Disappointment forgotten, Alice was grinning wildly again, “He wants your dad’s number, Bells.” Once again, Carlisle thanked God that he could no longer blush. Bella’s face twisted, then she plastered on a fake smile, “Oh, uh…” Rosalie started making gagging noises, and Alice was trying (and failing) not to laugh.

“Alice,” reprimanded Carlisle, “I don’t want your father’s number, Bella -”

“He _does,_ he’s just too polite to ask for it from you.”

“I just wanted to ask when Charlie will be at home tonight.”

Bella was starting to look slightly alarmed, “Um -”

“Bella’s right, that’s a super creepy and suspicious question to ask,” Rosalie said, saving Bella from trying to politely tell Carlisle to stop being creepy and suspicious.

“Oh! My apologies, Bella, I hadn’t even considered -”

Alice gave a long-suffering sigh, “What my dear father is _trying_ to say is when would be a good time for him to go round and ask your dad out on a date. Which honestly? Is kind of a stupid question, since you could have just asked me? You know, I can see the future. I know things like this.”

“Yes, thank you, Alice. I thought that might be an invasion of privacy, though.”

“Wow, how chivalrous,” Rosalie commented drily, while Bella made gagging faces.

“He’s actually at home already. Now can you leave? We’re trying to convince Bella to let us paint her nails pink,” Bella rolled her eyes as Alice hopped up to shut the door in Carlisle’s face. The last thing he saw was Rosalie grinning and brandishing a bottle of nail polish.

Carlisle squared his shoulders, then turned and left the house. _Right. I’m going to do this. I’m going to ask him out, like a normal person. Just ask him out to dinner. Easy._

He stopped off on the way to pick out some flowers, and a nice bottle of wine. Of course he wasn’t stalling, it was simply polite to give a gift to the person you were asking out. It wouldn’t do to be impolite.

Carlisle absolutely did _not_ sit in his car outside Charlie’s house for half an hour trying to work up the courage to knock on the door. He did not.

When he (finally) knocked on the door, Charlie opened it almost immediately. “I thought that was your car, what are you doing here?”

“Uh -” _Shit fuck shit God damn it fuckity shit_ “I was on the phone. Yes, uh, Esme called me, so I had to, um, sit. In the car. For thirty two minutes.”

At the mention of Esme, Charlie frowned, “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Oh! Here,” Carlisle thrust the flowers and wine into his hands, then started fiddling nervously with the buttons on his shirt.

Charlie seemed a bit distracted, but he shook his head, made deliberate eye contact with Carlisle, and repeated: “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I wanted to ask you out. On a date. With me.”

“Carlisle you’re married. You have a wife and like, twenty children. Why the _fuck_ are you asking me out?”

He didn’t look angry, but Carlisle could tell he was on his way there.

“I’m not - She isn’t my -” Carlisle paused, took a deep breath, and started again, “Esme is aromantic, she doesn’t experience romantic attraction. At all. Ever. We’re only really married for legal reasons? It’s difficult to adopt when you’re not married.”

“Oh. So you and Esme aren’t…?”

“Esme is my closest friend, but she’s nothing more than that,” Seeing that Charlie was no longer frowning, he continued, “If it helps, she knows I’m asking you out? This isn’t, I’m not _cheating_ on her, or anything.”

Charlie was smiling slightly now. “Okay. Okay, so you’re asking me out?”

“…Yes?”

“Right. Where and when, then?”

 _Shit._ “We could uh,” _Oh fuck I didn’t think I’d get this far. What do normal people do on dates?_ “Get dinner? Any time is good, really.”

“Wow, no busy schedule?”

“Oh my schedule is very busy but I’ll happily rearrange it to see you.”

Charlie’s heart rate picked up, and his cheeks flushed a light pink colour. _It looks good on him,_ observed Carlisle.

“Right. That’s real romantic of you.” The words sounded sincere, and Carlisle smiled. Charlie’s heart sped up again, “Well I’m busy tomorrow, so how about the day after?”

“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at eight?” _That’s a thing that people say, right? That’s normal and human, isn’t it?_

Charlie smiled, and Carlisle headed back to his car. _Oh no, should I have stayed? He didn’t ask me to stay, but it’s a bit weird for me to drive to his house just to ask him out. Oh no, what if he thinks I’m a stalker? I shouldn’t have turned up at his house that’s really threatening, fuck._

The rest of the drive was full of spiralling thoughts and he’d almost convinced himself to cancel the date altogether by the time he’d gotten home. Alice’s stricken expression as he pulled into the drive did _not_ calm his nerves.

She bounded over to the car, and yanked the door open, “Flowers? You didn’t say anything about _flowers_ why would you get him flowers?”

“I thought it would be romantic!” Then, “Wait what’s wrong with flowers? Oh god he’s deathly allergic to flowers and I’ve just killed him haven’t I? Shit, shit, do I have time to drive back and save him?”

“Language,” Alice smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry it’s nowhere near as bad as you think, sorry for worrying you.”

Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back into his seat.

“You’re right, he _is_ allergic to flowers, but it’s not life-threatening. He’ll be too stubborn to throw the flowers away, because they were a gift, so he’ll be sniffling and sneezing for about a week.”

“God I’m such an idiot.”

“You are. Also he doesn’t drink, so he’ll leave the wine in his fridge for about three months then eventually re-gift it to his favourite cousin.”

Carlisle just groaned in embarrassment.

“Oh, and you asked him out on a date to a restaurant?”

“Yes? That was the whole point.” Alice sighed, and glared at him, “Oh _shit_ I asked him out on a date to a _restaurant_.”

She nodded sympathetically, and patted his shoulder, then climbed up the side of the house and in through her bedroom window.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlisle takes Charlie on a dinner date!

This time, Carlisle strode right up to Charlie’s door and knocked on it without hesitation. He had no time for sitting in his car and stressing out, because he’d spent the last hour pacing his study and stressing out.

Alice had picked out an outfit for him, ecstatic to finally have a willing subject for her fashion ventures. Carlisle had taken one look in the mirror and immediately gone to get changed again. After thirteen outfit changes, he finally settled on Alice’s original choice, and had been rushed out of the house with only minutes to spare.

So there he was, standing nervously in front of Charlie’s house. If his heart was still beating, he’s sure it would be hammering in his chest. Instead, the only sound was the conversation Charlie and Bella were having. It felt a little rude to eavesdrop through the door, but it’s not like he could help it.

“Dad, he’s _here_ , go and answer the door!”

“No, you know what Bells, you were right, I’m too sick, tell him I’m -”

“Nope! No, nope, nuh uh,” There was a frenzied shuffling, then, “Now answer the door.”

Charlie sniffed, muttered “you’re damn stubborn you know” then opened the door. Somehow, despite hearing the whole exchange, Carlisle was surprised when it opened.

“Hello.”

“Hey.”

“You look lovely.” This made Charlie blush, and he looked even lovelier. Then he sniffed, and Carlisle’s heart dropped. He still felt awful about the flowers, though he was touched that Charlie had been stubborn enough to keep them in spite of the discomfort they caused.

“Yeah, well same to you. You probably already knew that though,” Carlisle must have looked confused, because after a short pause he clarified, “You always look lovely.”

Carlisle didn’t blush, because he was dead, but it was a near thing.

“Oh, uh, thank you.” They stood there awkwardly for a bit.

Finally, Bella took pity on them, “Have fun on your date, Dad,” she called pointedly from the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah. Try not to burn the house down while I’m gone. And no wild parties, okay?”

Carlisle could practically _hear_ Bella rolling her eyes. He smiled, and offered his hand to Charlie. He looked confused for a moment, then took hold of it. “Real chivalrous type ain’t ya,” he muttered under his breath. Carlisle choked on thin air.

The drive to the restaurant was surprisingly not too awkward. Charlie asked about his day, and Carlisle found himself going off on a tangent about troublesome patients who think they know better than trained medical professionals. As they pulled into the restaurant’s car park he realised he’d spent the whole drive talking about himself, which seemed really rude, but Charlie was smiling at him, and he seemed genuinely interested, occasionally adding a point of his own.

Now was the tricky bit.

As Alice had so kindly pointed out the other night, Carlisle had made a dreadful mistake in inviting Charlie out for a meal. Whilst vampires could _technically_ still eat food, it was… unpleasant, to say the least.

_It’s fine, you are hundreds of years old, you can force down one measly meal in order to woo Charlie._

He would just have to grin and bear it.

This was easier said than done.

“- So I said ‘You can take your damn beaver and -’ Carlisle? Are you okay?”

He looked up from his meal. “Hmm? Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Really? Because you’re looking at that carrot like it just insulted your mother.”

Carlisle took a deep breath, and schooled his face into a mask of calm. “No, I assure you that this carrot has no quarrel with my mother.”

Charlie snorted. To fully prove the point, Carlisle steeled himself and skewered the offending carrot on his fork.

_Come on Carlisle, it’s just a carrot. Just go ahead and take a bite. It won’t hurt you._

He took a bite. He almost gagged. Chewing and swallowing was a chore, but he forced himself through the motions, if only because spitting the orange mush onto his plate would _definitely_ put Charlie off.

On the subject of Charlie, the man was staring at Carlisle with a look of serious concern.

“Okay, I’m calling bullshit, you are _absolutely_ not okay. Are you gonna puke?”

“ _No,_ Charlie, I’m -”

“I swear to god you’d better stop saying you’re fine ‘cause I can damn well see that you ain’t. Now: why can’t you eat so much as a mouthful without looking like you’re gonna throw it back up everywhere?”

Putting his knife and fork down delicately on his plate, Carlisle sighed, “I… I’m already full.”

“…What.”

“Look, I was _stressed_ so I just kept snacking, and then it was time to go and I realised I’d basically eaten a full meal already, but it was too late to _cancel,_ so -”

Charlie held up a hand, “Now wait just a minute, you’re _full?_ ” Carlisle nodded mutely. “Why didn’t you just order something small, then? Like a starter?”

“Uh…”

“You didn’t think of that, did you?” He shook his head, and Charlie laughed, a loud, carefree thing, and Carlisle found he didn’t mind being embarrassed if it meant he got to hear him laugh like that. “It’s always the smartest folks that do the dumbest things, I swear. Now pass that here, no point in it going to waste.”

_Phew, disaster averted._

The rest of the evening passed without incident, in a pleasant haze of good company and good conversation. Carlisle found out that besides fishing, Charlie had a secret love for cheesy romance novels, which he was willing to defend fiercely. It was almost scary, how passionately he argued that a book doesn’t have to be classic, high brow literature to be _good_. It was mostly endearing though.

They also agreed that they’d need to have a movie night at some point in the near future. Well, their ‘agreement’ mostly consisted of Charlie loudly expressing his shock that Carlisle had never seen any of the movies he considered to be ‘classics’, and Carlisle weakly insisting that he just preferred other forms of media. Charlie was torn between sending Carlisle off to watch his favourite movies in his own spare time, or insisting that they watch them all together, so he could see Carlisle’s reaction.

Carlisle secretly vowed to watch them all on his own before their planned movie nights, so that he could spend the time subtly watching Charlie without missing out on any of the plot.

_Oh God I’m such a stalker._

Gradually, the conversation turned towards their families.

“So you and Esme, then -”

“I already told you, Charlie -”

“Yeah yeah I know, best friends and all that. I just wanted to say, I did some uh, research. Is it, are you like, queerplatonic partners?”

“…I don’t know? That’s not, it isn’t… It’s probably the right term, if you did your research properly, but we’ve never really discussed it beyond… Well beyond anything, really.”

He chuckled, “Wow, raising five kids together and you haven’t even defined the relationship?”

Carlisle laughed, “I’ll ask her about it later.” _Oh my God this is it, this is your chance, be smooth Carlisle,_ “And how should we define _our_ relationship, Charlie?”

He choked on his water, and flushed bright red. After taking a moment to compose himself, he replied: “Friends!” At Carlisle’s frown, he added, “Best friends?”

_Oh… Maybe I read the situation wrong?_

Charlie continued his rambling: “We’re just like, really good pals. Just super close buddies. Best mates. Yep. I’d trust you with my life in a purely platonic way. A friendship for the ages.”

“I see,” Carlisle tried to compose himself, but he was honestly shocked at the man’s response. Everything about this situation was romantic, yet he didn’t think of them as anything more than friends? “Well, I’m honoured that you think so highly of me. Dessert?”

Carlisle finished his evening with a list of books to add to his personal library, and a deep sense of disappointment and confusion. _Nevertheless, I must respect his wishes._

He brushed past Alice’s excited questioning and climbed the stairs to his room, where he definitely didn’t spend the night sulking. Absolutely not at all, that would be childish.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie night! Featuring Charlie trying (and failing) to be romantic with candles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's nothing sexier than a man fixing your smoke alarm for you

“You absolutely have to keep trying!”

“Alice, that’s incredibly creepy and inappropriate. Charlie said outright that he saw me as nothing more than a friend, I will not jeopardise that friendship by trying to pursue a relationship that he _clearly_ doesn’t want!”

“Did he _say_ he didn’t want to date you?”

“Does it matter? Pushing him further would be impolite, regardless of his exact wording.”

“But -”

Carlisle shot Alice a glare. She hadn’t reacted well to the news that he was giving up on ‘wooing’ Charlie, and seemed insistent that he was just ‘playing hard to get’. Normally, Carlisle trusted her judgement, but in this case his manners overrode his blind faith.

She pouted, opened her mouth to say more, then paused. Her eyes went unfocused for a moment, and if that hadn’t been enough of an indicator, the knowing grin that spread across her face made it clear that she’d just had a promising vision of the future.

“Okay Carlisle, love you, bye!” She said, reaching up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek then launching herself up the stairs. Esme stuck her head out of the kitchen, where she and Emmett were practising boiling eggs for Bella, and smiled fondly at Alice’s antics.

“Want to come help us boil this egg?”

“I’m sure you two can manage,” Carlisle replied, “I’m going to -”

Esme never found out what Carlisle was going to do, as at that moment the phone rang.

Carlisle sighed (he seemed to be doing that a lot lately), “That’ll be what Alice was so excited about. I’ll get it.”

Esme shot him a double thumbs up and winked, then went back into the kitchen.

“Hello?”

“Hey, uh, Carlisle?”

“Charlie? It’s good to hear from you.”

“Huh? Yeah, sure.”

For a moment, all Carlisle could hear was the sound of Charlie breathing into the phone. “Sorry, how did you get this number?”

“Oh!” Charlie sounded sheepish, and Carlisle smiled at the thought of the blush that must be accompanying his words, “I uh, I asked Bella for it. Sorry, it’s a bit creepy, I know, but uh…”

“No, no, that’s fine. I can give you my mobile number, if you’d like? For future use. You know. If you want to call me. Or text me, or whatever.”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Carlisle grinned, then Charlie continued, “I’m calling to uh, no, that sounds too damn formal, um, I just wanted to ask if you wanna come over and watch a movie?”

Carlisle froze. _Is this a date? Or is this just a friend thing?_ “Um, yes, I’d love that, that sounds wonderful. I’ll be right over.”

Charlie muttered under his breath, “Oh shit, damn, fuck, _today?_ I’m not fucking emotionally prepared for this shit,” then continued at a normal volume, “Yeah, sure that sounds great I’ll see you soon.”

_He doesn’t want to see me today? Is he just asking to be polite? But I’ve already agreed to go over, I can’t back out now, shit._

“Okay, right, cool. Bye?”

“Yep, bye, see you soon, goodbye,” blurted out Charlie before hanging up. There were the distinct sounds of Bella laughing in the background before the sound cut off. _I don’t know whether to thank or curse that girl for meddling so much,_ thought Carlisle, then _speaking of meddling daughters…_

Alice was leaning casually against the doorframe, inspecting her nails. Her casual demeanour was somewhat ruined when she sprang up from where she was lounging and started jumping up and down excitedly in front of Carlisle’s face.

“So you’ve got another date? You _have_ to admit that he likes you now!”

“This isn’t a date, Alice. We’re just two friends, watching a film together. That’s a perfectly normal, platonic thing to do.”

She scowled, “Whatever, you’re going to get together eventually anyway, I’m just trying to help make it sooner rather than later.”

“I appreciate it, Alice, I really do, but I don’t want to pressure him into something he clearly doesn’t want.”

“Damn you and your chivalry. Curse you for being so considerate. How dare you respect other people’s feelings like this. You’re ruining all my fun.”

Laughing, Carlisle kissed her on the forehead and went to grab his coat.  
One short drive later Carlisle was once again outside the Swan residence. _I’m really starting to make a habit out of this. At least I haven’t snuck in to watch him sleep though._ He strode up confidently (though he didn’t feel it) and knocked on the door.

It opened almost immediately, but instead of Charlie’s moustached face he saw Bella smiling up at him.

“Hey Carlisle, funny seeing _you_ here,” she grinned cheekily and _honestly, don’t I get enough of this at home?_

“Nice to see you too, Bella. How’s Edward?” He knew his son was upstairs, waiting still as a statue in Bella’s room, and that he most certainly _wasn’t_ allowed to be there.

Bella blushed, “Okay, point taken. Come in?”

He stepped past her into the warmth of the house, and she ushered him through into the living room before winking and leaving him to it.

Inside the living room, Charlie was bent over lighting a scented candle. Carlisle took a moment to appreciate the view before clearing his throat to announce his presence.

Charlie jumped about a mile out of his skin and knocked the candle over. It rolled off the edge of the table and the rug caught alight.

_Well shit._

“Shit, fuck, fuck,” Charlie started stomping on the fire, “Fire extinguisher, in the kitchen, quick!”

Carlisle was already running, perhaps _slightly_ faster than a normal human would be able to run but _hey, it’s an emergency._ He grabbed the extinguisher, and was back in the living room within seconds.

“Move out of the way,” Charlie hopped aside so Carlisle could deal with the rug. It was completely ruined, but thankfully Charlie’s frantic stomping had prevented the damage from spreading further.

More importantly, the smoke alarm hadn’t gone off.

“Charlie, do you have a smoke alarm?” Carlisle already knew the answer to the question, as he could see the small white box attached to the ceiling almost directly above where the fire had been.

“What? Oh yeah, right there,” He pointed helpfully at it, “Why?”

“… _Why?_ I’m sorry, do you have a _death wish?_ When’s the last time you checked that the smoke alarm actually works, which, by the way, it very clearly does _not_? You _do_ realise that a smoke alarm is there to save your life, and it can’t do that if it _doesn’t. Fucking. Work._ ”

Charlie seemed suitably scolded, if his red face was any indication. He didn’t put up any protest when Carlisle stormed out to drive to the shops, then stormed back in and started angrily changing the batteries of all the smoke detectors in the house.

Even Edward and Bella didn’t dare say anything when he barged into her bedroom and stood on her bed to reach the alarm above it.

Charlie watched attentively as he showed him how to test the alarm, and didn’t say a word until Carlisle had finished. He was quite exhausted. It had been a long time since he’d lost his temper like that, and he hoped he hadn’t scared Charlie.

The man in question was flushed, and his heart rate had picked up. When he finally spoke, he didn’t make eye contact with Carlisle, “Sorry about that.”

“No, _I’m_ sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I was just worried for your safety.”

“Yeah, I uh… I appreciate that, Carlisle. Feels like a long while since anyone’s fussed over me like that. ‘S nice to be the one taken care of, for once.”

“Any time.”

“Yeah, I’m really starting to believe that,” It was quiet for a long moment. “Sorry, it’s real late now, I uh, don’t think we’re gonna have time to watch that film. I’ve gotta be up early tomorrow.”

“Yes, me too. Another time, then?”

Charlie placed his hand on Carlisle’s shoulder and _oh, that’s surprisingly nice_. Smiling softly, he said, “It’s a date.”

 _Shit, that_ really _doesn’t help clarify_ anything.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlisle continues to deny that Charlie actually likes him even when Charlie asks him on a date (also he has a mid life crisis when he remembers that Charlie's a human and could basically die at any time)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not much happens in this chapter :/ it's just a sort of in between which sets up for the next chapter (fishing date!!)

As expected, the movie night had completely failed to clarify anything.

Sitting in a darkened room with Charlie for almost two hours had been a test of will, and by the end of it he’d hardly taken in any of the plot, distracted as he was by the warmth emanating from Charlie where he’d sat only centimetres away.

He’d had to physically restrain himself from reaching out and taking his hand, from shifting closer and resting his head upon the man’s shoulder. Not for the first time, Carlisle was immensely glad for his almost endless self control. It had taken all of it not to simply throw caution to the wind and bridge the gap between them.

Charlie had seemed a little put out at Carlisle’s general lack of enthusiasm for the film, and Carlisle vowed to himself that next time he would actually pay attention to the movie and ignore the man sat beside him.

Because yes, there _was_ going to be a next time, at Carlisle’s house instead of Charlie’s, and _Christ, that’s a terrifying thought,_ though Carlisle couldn’t pinpoint _why_ , exactly, he was so scared of what Charlie might think of his house.

So after a few awkward goodbyes, Carlisle found himself at home once more. This time, Emmett was waiting at the door instead of Alice, which was suspicious for two reasons: firstly, it meant Alice was off doing something else, which was never good; and secondly, it meant that Emmett was taking an interest in Carlisle’s love life.

This was a problem, because Emmett was very… _forward._

“What’s up old man, did you get some yet?”

_Dear Christ, my children will be the death of me._

“Get what?”

“I’ll take that as a no, then. What’s the matter? You’re usually so charming, I thought for _sure_ you’d’ve gotten into his pants by now.”

“Emmett, there’s really no need to be so vulgar.”

“I’m just saying, you’ve lost your touch, dude. D’you need some tips?”

“ _Christ,_ no Emmett, I don’t need any ‘tips’, as much as I appreciate the offer.”

“Your loss,” Normally that would have been the end of it, but for some reason he was being particularly pushy today, “But you need to hurry it up a bit, I – Uh…”

“You what, Emmett?” _This is_ definitely _suspicious,_ “Why would I need to hurry?”

“Just, um, humans don’t live very long, is all.”

Carlisle froze. Suddenly, his chest felt uncomfortably tight. “Yes, thank you, Emmett, I don’t need reminding.” No, the fire had been more than enough of a reminder. Charlie was fragile, and human, and every breath led him closer to death. All the worrying in the world would only stave off the inevitable. Even if he averted every disaster, fixed every smoke alarm, eventually Charlie would do what humans did best.

It was not something Carlisle wanted to think about.

Ignoring Emmett, Carlisle pushed past and all but sprinted up the stairs.

Three hours later, Esme found him sitting on the roof, trashy romance novel discarded to one side and head in his hands.

“Are you okay?”

He laughed bitterly, “Yes, and that’s the problem isn’t it?”

“Carlisle, dear, that is possibly the stupidest thing you have ever said to me.”

Silently, she came over to sit beside him. Though he didn’t take his eyes off the forest he could feel her gaze on him.

When he didn’t respond, she continued, “You being okay will never be a problem, Carlisle. You deserve to be happy, you know that?”

“…I know. The real problem is that I’m okay when Charlie _isn’t_.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her frown with concern, “What’s wrong with him? Is he hurt? Sick?”

“He’s human, Esme. If he’s not hurt or sick now, he will be soon, and one day he’ll be dead and then what will I do?”

“Carlisle Cullen you are the second most dramatic person I know.”

“Only the second?”

She levelled him with a stare, “Have you _met_ Edward? And really, Alice and Rosalie are not much better. Sometimes, I think I’m the only rational one in this family.”

Dark thoughts forgotten, Carlisle laughed, “Don’t kid yourself, you’re just as irrational as the rest of us. Your vendetta against Aro’s curtains is a testament to that.”

She pouted, “You’re a terrible husband. And they were terrible curtains, anyone with eyes could see that much.”

“About that…”

“The curtains? No, don’t tell me they _survived_ , I don’t think my poor heart could take it!” She clasped her hands to her chest dramatically, but Carlisle didn’t laugh.

“No, about me being your husband. Are you happy with that lie?”

“Carlisle, I’ve told you before, I don’t care what – Wait. Is this about Charlie?”

“No, I told him that we’re not actually married, and he says he understands. He even researched aromantic terminology -”

“Oh, that’s so sweet! If you don’t marry him then I will, watch out Carlisle. But that’s not what I meant. To be honest, I hadn’t even considered it. I thought you were asking about what would happen when Charlie joined the family.”

Carlisle choked on thin air, and turned to look at her fully. “What?”

“Well, you’re worried about him being mortal and fragile and all that jazz, right? The logical solution is to make him _im_ mortal. You _have_ to, actually, since Aro knows about him.”

“I don’t even know if he wants that -”

“Then ask him.”

“We’re not even dating!”

“It’s only a matter of time, dear. If Alice says it, it must be true.”

They were both quiet for a few minutes. Esme was right, of course. So wrapped up in thoughts of tragedy was Carlisle that he hadn’t even stopped to consider the facts. He’d basically known from the start that if things went well, he’d have to turn Charlie into a vampire. Going to see Aro had only cemented that knowledge in his mind.

“Why must you always be so logical and level-headed, dear?”

“Aha! So you admit that I _am_ rational and that I _was_ right about the curtains?”

“No you know what I take it back, you’re as childish as the rest of us.”

Esme pushed him off the roof.

“That only proves my point and you know it!”

She was laughing too hard to reply.

Grumbling, Carlisle climbed in through the kitchen window. Immediately, Alice appeared at his side, grinning mischievously.

“What is it now?”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Liar,” he accused fondly, “When you grin like that it only means one thing: you’re here to meddle in my love life _again._ ”

Gasping and putting her hand to her chest in mock offence she cried, “I’m offended that you think so little of me, dear darling father! Am I not allowed to smile?” At that moment, the phone rang, and Alice’s grin only grew wider.

Sighing, Carlisle went over to answer it, “Hello?”

“Hey, uh Carlisle. It’s me. Charlie.”

“Hello Charlie.”

“Sorry to bother you again but, uh, you never did give me your number, so I had to call the house phone, and honestly it’s lucky you were in, because -”

“Charlie, it’s no problem, really. We can exchange numbers next time we see one another?”

“Yeah, sure, that sounds real nice. Um, anyway I’m going fishing at the weekend.”

“…Have fun?”

“Do you want to come with me? Fishing? At the weekend?”

“Charlie, there’s nothing I’d like more.”

Charlie squeaked, then cleared his throat, blurted out, “Neat! I’ll pick you up on Saturday thanks bye!” and hung up.

Alice was still grinning at him.

“Shut up,” he said.

She only grinned wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone who's been leaving comments and kudos by the way you're all wonderful and i love you <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fishing date! What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: i know absolutely nothing about fishing and i couldn't be bothered to research it so if you spot a mistake? no you don't <3

Carlisle was absolutely _not_ panicking. He was merely voicing some very reasonable concerns, none of which his horrible children seemed to care about.

“He’s probably not coming, he changed his mind and he never wants to speak to me again and I’ll just be sat here all day waiting for him and then I’ll go to his house to ask about it and he’ll have _moved house_ and then -”

“Carlisle please, if you don’t shut up right now I _will_ put a sock in your mouth.”

“Rosalie’s right, you’re being completely irrational.”

“How could you possibly _know_ that?”

“Carlisle, dearest father whom I love very much, I can _literally_ see the future. He’ll be here in like, thirty seconds, tops.”

“ _Shit_ I’m not prepared for this is it too late to cancel?”

The doorbell rang.

Carlisle ducked down behind the kitchen counter.

“Oh fucking _hell_ ,” Rosalie grabbed Carlisle by his hair and dragged him to the door, “You’d better kiss him on this date or Emmett’s going to be _insufferable._ ”

“It’s not a _date_ , Rose, it’s just -”

“It’s not?”

While he’d been speaking, Rosalie had opened the door, and Charlie now stood there, looking a bit crestfallen. Then he seemed to realise something, and said: “Oh, I mean, of course it’s not! Just some quality bro-on-bro bonding time! Best buds yeah,” To illustrate his point he half-heartedly shook his fist in the air.

Carlisle shot a triumphant grin at Rosalie, who rolled her eyes so hard that they almost fell out of her face (Carlisle shuddered at the memory of the last time _that_ had happened) and stormed off up the stairs.

They walked to the car in silence. Things felt strangely tense between them, and Carlisle longed for the carefree conversation they’d shared at the restaurant, before Charlie had said he only wanted to be friends and broken Carlisle’s heart. _Stop being so dramatic Carlisle, I’m sure you’ll survive._

“So, uh, fishing?” Charlie simply grunted, starting the engine, so Carlisle tried again, “What’s it like? I’ve never fished before.”

“Yeah, I kinda guessed.”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

Charlie jumped slightly, and blushed, “I didn’t – It wasn’t an insult! You just don’t seem the type, is all.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, you’re all fancy and… pretty. If I didn’t know you were a doctor I’d say you’d never done a day’s work in your life.”

“Pretty?”

Somehow, Charlie managed to blush even darker at this. “Have you looked in a mirror recently?”

“Have _you?_ I may be ‘pretty’ but you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.”

Charlie coughed violently and almost lost control of the car, “Such a gentleman.”

“I assure you, Charlie, I am entirely genuine. Has nobody ever told you that you’re attractive?”

“Not like _that_ , they haven’t.”

“Well you deserve every compliment you get and then some. You’re really very good-looking, Charlie.”

“So! Fishing. Let me just, uh, I’ll tell you all about it.”

As the man launched off into a long and complicated explanation about bait and lures Carlisle frowned. It was a travesty that Charlie didn’t receive compliments very often, and Carlisle made a mental note to remedy that as soon as possible.

Listening to the man talk was soothing, and surprisingly interesting. Perhaps love was clouding his better judgement, but every word out of Charlie’s voice was absolutely fascinating, and Carlisle found himself beginning to look forward to actually learning how to fish. Soon, they arrived, and from there it was simply a short walk to the lake.

Normally, Carlisle would have run to the lake, taking full advantage of his superhuman speed. Today, he was content to walk at a human pace, relishing in the extra moments spent in Charlie’s company.

_Good God, I didn’t realise I was such a hopeless romantic._

By the lake sat a little boathouse, with a small fleet of brightly coloured boats moored to its short pier. A small distance away, a longer pier stretched its way out towards the centre of the lake, open for the public to fish from. Though there were a few other people around, it seemed that they’d picked a nice, quiet day for it.

Carlisle immediately made a beeline for the boathouse, where a large sign advertised ‘boats for hire’.

“Carlisle what are you – get back here!”

He paused mid-stride, and turned back towards Charlie, “I’m going to hire a boat?”

“Look, I really don’t have the funds for that, Carlisle, and the pier will work just fine.”

“Nonsense, you were just saying that you prefer fishing from a boat -”

Charlie reddened, and muttered “Didn’t think you were actually listening to any of that.” 

“- and I have _more_ than enough money. Consider it my treat.”

Charlie continued blushing and stammered a final half-hearted protest, but he followed Carlisle quietly over to the boats, and picked a red one to row out into the middle of the lake.

Out there it was a lot quieter, the only sounds being the lap of small waves against the side of the boat and Charlie’s rapidly beating heart.

“Right,” said Carlisle, rubbing his hands together, “Let’s get started then. How do I, uh…” He waved his hands helplessly at the pile of fishing equipment. Listening to Charlie rant about fishing and actually _attempting_ it were two very different kettles of fish. Or empty kettles, depending on how badly this trip went.

“Here, hold this,” he thrust a fishing rod into Carlisle’s hands, then set about fussing with the bait… or uh… tackle? Carlisle really didn’t know a _thing_ about fishing.

A few moments later, he was done. “Okay, now you need to cast off,” he was looking very red, and Carlisle had just opened his mouth to ask if he was feeling quite alright when Charlie shuffled up to sit directly behind him, effectively cutting off all brain function.

“Uh…”

“Look, uh, I’m just gonna show you how to uh…” Cautiously, as if he would jump into the lake at any second, Charlie wrapped his arms around him and guided his hands into the right positions on the fishing rod. Carlisle was glad that Charlie was doing all of the work, as his brain had almost completely shut down.

_Wow he’s really warm…_

So Carlisle can’t _really_ be blamed for what happened next.

One second Charlie was pulling their arms back to throw the bait thing into the lake and the next Carlisle was overbalancing and falling into the lake. He allowed himself to sink for a few seconds, then realised _oh shit he thinks I’m drowning_ and started swimming back up the surface.

As anticipated, Charlie _did_ think he was drowning, and had just ripped his coat off in preparation to dive in after him. His shirt had come untucked and Carlisle could see a sliver of skin underneath it and _now is not the time Carlisle get your mind out of the gutter._

“Oh shit, fuck, Carlisle I’m so sorry,” Charlie was blabbering as he leaned down to help Carlisle drag himself out of the water, “Christ, I thought you were dead, fuck.”

“I’m fine, Charlie, really.”

“You’re soaking wet, you’ll catch your death of cold -”

Carlisle snorted.

“It’s not funny! You were – You could have _died_ , Carlisle, I was… Christ, I thought I’d killed you. I’m taking you home.”

Back at the car, Carlisle undressed and Charlie offered him his coat and the blanket that he kept in his trunk in case of emergencies. It was a struggle not to laugh every time he pointed out how cold Carlisle’s skin was, and the only way he managed to keep a straight face was by thinking about how this was _another_ date ruined.

The only upside was that Charlie _insisted_ that Carlisle should keep his jacket, promising that he could ‘give it back next time we see each other’. Carlisle wore it all night, and secretly hoped that Charlie would forget to ask for it back.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go on a "platonic" island getaway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh we're nearly finished!!

“I can’t believe you invited him to a romantic island getaway at your private island… platonically. _Nothing_ about this is platonic!” Alice was absolutely flabbergasted at this new development in his and Charlie’s ‘friendship’, and even Carlisle had to admit that it sounded ridiculous when she put it like that.

“Look, Alice, I see no reason why we can’t be reasonable about this. We are two fully grown men, and we’ve agreed to go away on a perfectly platonic, friendly holiday together. Just the two of us. To my private island. Together…” He groaned and put his head in his hands.

Alice merely patted his back sympathetically.

It was then that Emmett chose to appear dramatically in the doorway. “What’s up old man, finally gonna get laid?”

Glowering, Alice asked: “Do you value your tongue, Emmett?”

“Rosalie says it’s my finest feature, wink wink.”

“I’m going to push you down the stairs I _swear_ -”

“Kids, please.”

For a moment, it was quiet as Alice and Emmett pulled faces at one another from across the room. Emmett seemed to win the silent argument, as Alice huffed and left the room, muttering something about ‘last-minute packing’ and elbowing Emmett in the ribs as she passed him.

He merely grinned, and plopped himself down in the chair next to Carlisle’s. “How’s it hanging boss? Last minute nerves before your romantic island getaway?”

“I’ve _told_ you, Emmett, we’re not, it isn’t -” he sighed, and started over, “Charlie doesn’t _like_ me like that. He said so himself, he just sees us as friends.”

“Ah, but in the famous words of Sharpay Evans, ‘It’s summer Ryan, everything changes.’ Just because you’re friends _now_ doesn’t mean you’ll never be _more_ than that, you know?”

“I just don’t want to pressure him into anything -”

“See, normally? Normally I’d be all over that chivalry and respecting his feelings shit, and don’t get me wrong I still am. But dude, he’s _hella_ into you. Why would he keep asking to hang out with you if he _didn’t_ like you?”

When Carlisle didn’t immediately answer, he pushed on, “All I’m saying is this: shoot your shot. Tell him how you feel, ask him out _again_ , but make it clear it’s a date this time, and if he says no? _Then_ you back off. ‘One word from you will silence me on this topic forever’ and all that, yeah? Just uh… Make sure you do it quickly, yeah?”

Without waiting for a reply, Emmett hefted himself out of the chair and cartwheeled out of the room. Carlisle sighed deeply, and followed him. He could already hear Charlie driving up to the house. It was going to be a _long_ weekend, but surprisingly, Emmett’s advice had helped.

“Hey,” Charlie greeted him, “You’re uh, you’re still wearing my jacket.”

“Oh, sorry, you can have it back, let me just -”

“Nah, keep it. It looks good on you.” Charlie blushed as he spoke, and Carlisle pretended not to hear Alice’s sudden coughing fit from where she sat in the kitchen, eavesdropping.

The drive to the airport was uneventful. After they boarded the plane, Charlie drifted off, resting his head on Carlisle’s shoulder. Carlisle spent the flight counting the individual hairs on the man’s head, trying to ignore the urge to wake him up and kiss him senseless.

It was nightfall when they finally arrived at Isle Esme. The moon’s light cast eerie shadows in the trees, and though the air was warm, Carlisle felt Charlie shiver beside him. Neither man spoke, as if words might break and shatter the picturesque scene in front of them. At the edge of the small jungle, undergrowth thinned out and morphed into smooth white sand; a perfect, untouched paradise.

There was nothing to hear but the lap of waves against the shore and Charlie’s breathing.

“It’s beautiful.”

Carlisle’s eyes didn’t leave Charlie’s face as he replied, “yes”, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

Finally, Charlie turned to meet his gaze, face softening at whatever he saw in its intensity. Carlisle couldn’t bring himself to look away. This close, he could count every star reflected in Charlie’s eyes, could count every eyelash, and _God_ he was desperate to familiarise himself with every part of Charlie, aching to commit him to memory and keep him that way. Selfishly, he wanted to freeze this moment, this _man_ , in time. Selfishly, he didn’t want to lose him.

Then Charlie cleared his throat, and gestured towards the building up ahead. “Shall we?”

Carlisle sighed, and began making his way up the narrow path leading to the front door. He quickly unlocked it, then held it open and gestured for Charlie to go through.

He chuckled and muttered, “What a gentleman,” before entering. The lights flickered on, and Carlisle started showing Charlie around. The shorter man was quiet, looking at everything with a sort of wide-eyed awe.

“I’ll just, uh, leave you to it, then,” said Carlisle, hovering awkwardly in the doorway of what was to be Charlie’s bedroom during their stay. Charlie merely grunted, so Carlisle headed over to his own room, scolding himself for wishing that there was only one bed forcing them to share. _Don’t be so vulgar, Carlisle. Have a little respect for Charlie’s personal space._

The rest of the night passed in relative peace. Carlisle tried to get some reading done, but he ended up simply lying on his back, staring at the ceiling and counting Carlisle’s steady breaths.

It was only when the sun started to rise that Carlisle realised his fatal error.

_Shit. Fuck._

It seemed he had a talent for inviting Charlie on dates – no, not dates; platonic hangout sessions – that were _entirely_ inappropriate for vampires. _Good God it’s like I_ want _him to figure it out._

Yes, Carlisle had _somehow_ taken leave of all of his senses and brought Charlie on holiday to probably one of the sunniest places on earth. He had _no idea_ how he was going to explain any of this to Charlie.

“What do you mean, you’re gonna stay inside? We’re here on vacation, aren’t you supposed to relax? Y’know, soak up the sun and all that?”

“I uh… I burn really easily,” Charlie looked incredulous, “And I’m allergic to sun cream.”

“Then why on _earth_ would you want to go on holiday to _Brazil?_ ”

Carlisle couldn’t help but look sheepish at that, “…I wanted you to have a nice time.”

Charlie sighed, “Right, put on something with long sleeves, wait here I’ll be right back.”

Mystified, Carlisle followed Charlie’s orders and changed out of his brightly-coloured Hawaiian shirt. Shortly, Charlie returned, carrying a… beach umbrella?

“I didn’t even know we _had_ one of those.”

Charlie ignored him, too distracted by wrestling with the umbrella to formulate a reply. Finally, he managed to put it up, and held it aloft expectantly. When Carlisle merely looked at him in confusion, he sighed, and instructed: “Get under the umbrella. You’re going to come and sit on the beach whether you like it or not.”

Ducking under the umbrella, Carlisle smiled fondly, and they walked down to the shore together.

Carlisle spent the day chatting idly to Charlie as they lay side by side, one in the sun and one in the shade. Eventually, Charlie managed to rope Carlisle into a sandcastle building competition, which Carlisle won after an unfortunate ‘accident’ resulting in Charlie’s castle being tragically demolished.

Later, after the sun had set and the sand was slowly cooling down, Charlie dragged Carlisle into the sea, and they spent an hour swimming and floating lazily, occasionally splashing one another playfully.

Somehow, it hadn’t been a complete and utter disaster, and Carlisle was smiling when he wished Charlie a good night and headed off to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes!! it's finally finished!! these two idiots finally did it!!

The moon was high in the sky when Carlisle heard Charlie shuffling around next door. His deep, even breathing gradually became shallower, then with a groan he sat up and clambered out of bed.

_I wonder what he’s doing…_

Soft footsteps headed into the hallway, and from the sound of it made their way to the kitchen. Charlie opened and closed a few cupboards, bustling about the kitchen almost silently. Clearly, he was trying his best not to wake Carlisle.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that, torn between a deep affection at the considerate act and a light amusement at the irony.

 _He couldn’t wake me up if he tried,_ mused Carlise, _I’m sleeping like the dead._

Rosalie would definitely have thrown something at him for that awful joke.

There was the distinctive sound of a running tap, and Carlisle suddenly felt a tug in his gut, a strong urge to go out there and talk to Charlie. He wanted to know him, to see him like this, soft and vulnerable in the moonlight, hair mussed and clothes rumpled from sleep.

Finally, for the first time in centuries, Carlisle’s self control faltered, and before he even realised what he was doing he was standing in the kitchen doorway.  
This was a turning point. Whatever happened next could make or break their relationship. Carlisle felt it with such conviction that he was frozen in fear.

What they had, their friendship; it was safe, it was comfortable. This whole affair was about Carlisle’s feelings for Charlie, his goal had always been to win Charlie’s heart. But the fear was overwhelming, all-consuming.

No matter what he wanted, he couldn’t take that final step.

So he contented himself with drinking in the sight of the man in front of him, illuminated by the moon, close enough to touch yet never so far from Carlisle’s grasp.

Charlie finally looked up, and _oh._

Moonlight softened his face, casting him in a delicate greyscale. His skin was stark and pale against the shadows surrounding him, and for a brief moment Carlisle could almost imagine him as a vampire, cold and unbreakable. Then he yawned, and the illusion was shattered. No, he didn’t look unbreakable, he looked immensely fragile. Under the dim light, he seemed much younger, much softer.

Much more vulnerable.

Something about the scene felt immensely intimate, but Carlisle found himself unable to tear his gaze away, unable to pull back into familiar territory and lose this sudden tenderness.

“What time is it?” Charlie’s question, murmured so softly that he almost missed it, shook Carlisle from his reverie.

“What?”

“What time is it?”

“Um, about five in the morning, I think? The sun’s going to come up soon.”

“What time _exactly_?”

 _Why is he being so persistent about this? Am I missing something?_ In spite of his confusion, Carlisle pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time.

**05.23AM**

“Twenty three minutes past five, do you want the seconds as well?”

Charlie hummed contemplatively, then asked, “What time would that be back in Forks?”

“Five hour time difference, so just past midnight. Can I ask why?”

Ignoring his question completely, Charlie said, “Cool. Can I kiss you?”

“What? Uh, yes, definitely.”

Then Charlie was kissing him, and Carlisle’s brain completely shut down. His last coherent thought was _oh, his face is warm too_ and then he lost himself to it. Charlie’s hands were on his hips, pulling him impossibly closer, and Carlisle scrabbled for something to hold onto, something to anchor himself to reality.  
Charlie moaned softly when Carlisle’s hands found their way to his hair, tugging gently to tilt his head into a better position and making Carlisle dizzy with emotion. The whole world seemed to melt away until there was nothing around them and nothing mattered but the press of their lips together and the warmth of Charlie’s arms around his waist.

It could have been seconds or minutes later, but eventually Charlie pulled away and rested their foreheads together. _How the_ hell _am I breathless when I don’t even need to breathe?_

Carlisle was vaguely aware that he was grinning like an idiot, but he was honestly too happy to care. “What was that for?”

“What do you mean ‘what was that for’, I wanted to kiss you so I did,” Charlie frowned and _oh no I can’t have that, Charlie’s not allowed to be upset_. Sounding concerned, he asked, “Was that okay? I _did_ ask but…”

“’Was that okay?’ Charlie that was wonderful. I just… I thought you just wanted to be friends? You _said_ you just wanted to be friends. I asked you out. On a date. And you said you just wanted to be friends. I thought I was being so smooth and everything.”

“Oh, uh, about that…”

Charlie looked sheepish, and highly embarrassed, so Carlisle reached out and took one of his hands, lacing their fingers together and pressing a reassuring kiss to his knuckles.

This seemed to work, as Charlie quickly continued, “Christ you’re cold, uh… Look, I’m sorry, okay, I kind of panicked a bit with that one. It’s just, Christ this sounds so stupid, Emmett and Bells had a bet? About how long it would take us to kiss and Bella roped me into it so that I’d make sure _she_ won because she said she’d split the money with me and I _really_ need a new fishing rod.”

Carlisle blinked.

Charlie cringed, but didn’t say anything else.

Carlisle blinked again, took a deep breath, let out a deep sigh, then finally spoke.

“Charlie. Dear. You wonderful, stupid man. I am literally a millionaire. I own a private island. You could have _asked me to buy you a new fishing rod._ ”

“I can’t just _ask_ you to buy me things, Carlisle -”

“I’ll buy you anything you want if you kiss me like that again.”

“Wait, does that make you my sugar daddy?”

Carlisle choked on his own tongue, “Jesus _Christ_.”

“Is that a no, then?”

Chuckling, Carlisle leaned down to kiss Charlie again. Charlie responded eagerly, and it was a few minutes before they pulled away, both panting for air.

"Does this mean we're more than friends now?"

Charlie groaned and hid his face in his hands.

"More than super best friends? More than really close, platonic buddies? More than, and I quote, 'a friendship for the ages'?"

Charlie pushed him away half-heartedly, protesting, "Shut up, shut up. I was under duress. Haven't you ever heard of 'gay panic'?"

"Christ Charlie, where do you get these things?"

"From Bella, mostly. She thinks we're hilarious."

"Oh I'm sore she does. I hope she knows this is her fault. I'll be having words with her and Emmett when we get home."

Charlie laughed again, and bumped their foreheads together gently. "But seriously, Carlisle... I _do_ want to be more than friends."

Carlisle kissed him again, then leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You mean... _best_ friends?"

"Carlisle Cullen I swear to _God -_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this didn't end too abruptly, I just wasn't really sure where to go from here.
> 
> also i'm really bad at writing kiss scenes so i'm sorry if it was super awkward
> 
> thank you for reading it really means a lot to me <3 i hope you enjoyed it :)


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